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YOU DON’T have to spend $20,000 to get a terrific sports car. You could buy the 1989 Nissan 240 SX XE coupe.

SX XE? Unh, huh. Very SX XE. It’s hot. It’s slick. It’s one of the best sports cars running in the middle-income tax bracket.

In looks, it outclasses the comparable, swoop-bodied Ford Probe, which is saying a lot. Dealers already have trouble keeping the front-drive Probe in stock. The rear-drive SX XE will give its importers a similar happy problem. The car’s gonna sell, fast.

But the SX XE is more than looks. Step inside. Turn on the ignition. Okay, hold it a moment.

See that blue-green 0 on the lower-left windshield? Be cool. Gear up. Step on the gas. The windshield’s 0 changes to 15, 25, 40, et cetera, matching your speed.

You’re looking at the first mass-market use of head-up display in an automobile. In this case, the system projects the digital speedometer reading onto a small, transparent screen bonded to the inside of the windshield.

This is no silly gimmick. Head-up display allows you to keep your eyes on the road without taking them off the speedometer. It voids the “Gee-officer-I-didn’t-know-how-fast-I-was-going” excuse. This is common-sense safety engineering.

Nissan’s to be congratulated for bringing head-up display to the U.S. auto market, and the company’s to be admired for putting this and other new technology into such a wonderfully attractive package.

Way to go, Nissan!

Complaint: Not with the SX XE, but with the timidity of American auto makers in introducing items like head-up display. Why is it that the Japanese are always beating us to the punch on these things? Somebody out there got an answer?

Praise: Brains and guts. Let me explain. Nissan’s been on the ropes. Many of its cars in recent years have been pitifully boring. The company’s management, conservative to the max, has been embroiled in all kinds of internecine strife. But, thank goodness, some people in the place had the brains to keep working on the things that count — exciting new vehicles.

The 240 SX XE demonstrates Nissan’s rededication to doing things right. The car is as simple as it is modern. Look at the interior. Basic mono-form seats. None of that six-way, 12-way, power-seat stuff. And yet, the SX XE’s seats are far more comfortable than those of many fancier models.

Look at the windows. They’re wide, spacious. Visibility’s excellent.

This is one heck of a fine little car.

Head-turning quotient: First-class show stopper. I could’ve sold tickets for the right to sit in it. But my bosses frown on that sort of thing.

Ride, acceleration, braking, handling: Top marks all the way. The car’s a dart. Ah, yeah. Some of you might be concerned about the rear-drive arrangement. Don’t be. The SX XE has a very sophisticated rear suspension — four control arms for each rear wheel — that keeps it on track in the tightest of turns.

The car has disc brakes on all wheels. Power comes from a 2.4-liter, 4-cylinder, single overhead camshaft, 12-valve engine rated 140 hp at 5,600. That’s a lot of oomph for a 2,657-pound car.

Sound system: Four-speaker AM/FM stereo radio and cassette, by Clarion. Very good.

Mileage: About 24 to the gallon (15.9-gallon tank, estimated 371-mile range), mostly highway and driver only.

Price: Base price is $12,999. Price as tested is $15,043, including $795 for air conditioner and $999 for power package (door locks, mirrors, windows, head-up display) and $250 destination charge. Estimated dealer’s invoice price on optioned model is $13,388.

Purse-strings note: Comparison shop with Ford Probe, Mazda MX-6, Toyota Celica. Expect dealer resistance to mark-downs.